Obama’s Public Lands Conservation Legacy

Progress, but still much more to do

President Obama has gotten some high praise lately from the New York Times editorial board, and this op-ed from Prof. David Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice noted for his biography of President Theodore Roosevelt. Brinkley compares Obama favorably to Teddy Roosevelt for his conservation legacy.

In President Obama’s first term, he aggressively pursued an “all of the above” energy strategy that included the leasing of federal public lands for fossil fuel production – including leasing off-shore areasin the Arctic Ocean for oil development. He was sharply criticized by environmental groups for these actions, both because of the on-the-ground impacts that fossil fuel development can have on ecosystems and wild places, and because of the climate impacts of taking more fossil fuels out of the ground. (In fairness to President Obama, he inherited a massive increase in fossil fuel production on federal lands from the George W. Bush Administration, and fossil fuel production overall on public lands somewhat decreased from 2003 to 2014.)

Lately, the Administration appears to have been taking a different approach. It has imposed a moratorium oncoal leasing on federal lands while it reconsiders overall coal leasing policy, and it has made favorable noises to considering the carbon emission impacts of fossil fuel development on public lands. Still, the Administration is far from wholeheartedly embracing the “Keep It In the Ground” movement that calls for the end of all future fossil fuel leasing on federal public lands. If the President really wants to solidify his conservation legacy, he needs to do more than just create new monuments – he needs to completely restructure and re-envision the role of fossil fuel development on our public lands.

Reader Comments

Eric said;
“…..the Administration is far from wholeheartedly embracing the “Keep It In the Ground” movement that calls for the end of all future fossil fuel leasing on federal public lands…..”

Dear Eric,
I listened to Trump’s speech tonight and it seems increasingly likely that he will become our next President. If so, then the “Keep It In the Ground” movement would be relegated to obscurity and quickly forgotten. Going forward, this forum should focus on environmental policy under the Trump Administration and not waste time on issues that are no longer relevant.

“…….First there was Brexit, now there’s Clexit – or “Climate Exit”. The Clexit Coalition represents a growing movement of individuals no longer buying that the “science” behind climate change is settled. They argue that all harmful, costly and unscientific climate treaties should be torn up and are on a mission to have their voices heard and their opinions represented fairly in the media……”